Ok so even though this is an old post I feel a need to respond. I'm very surprised that no one had any advice to give on L-theanine. COME ON this forum is called END PANIC. Jeff I'm very surprised you don't know of the benefits of L-theanine. Cameron to answer your question which nobody seemed to do I say BUY IT and it will be *one of the best decisions you will ever make. I hope you did buy it and it seems you probably would have regardless of the replies. ANYBODY with stress and anxiety SHOULD be on L-theanine. There is no real reason NOT to be on it(no ill side effects at all) and its definitely worth the small expense. Jeff I agree with you that we should face our fears and learn from them for this is what we are supposed to do(they are there for a reason). However I believe part of learning from your fears is learning what you physically/mentally need in order to live in this physical world and extremely stressful society(thats a whole other can of worms) with a sense of well-being. Jeff you almost have the full equation. Here is my base equation for a healthy body/mind. 1. Clean water-adequate hydration 2. Strenuous exercise(for me intense muscle training lifts my mood better than any other with plenty of breath time-continuous long periods of exercise can easily become counter-productive)-5 days a week 3. Healthy food(no junk) 4. L-theanine-200 mg every 4-5 hours everyday or when stressed 5. *BONUS* Marijuana(certain sativas) lifts my mood, gives me energy, gives me confidence, gives me insight, gives me sense of well-being, boosts meditation and overall understanding. Now L-theanine is not a CURE ALL because that does not exist(there is a reason its #4 on the list). But basically if you follow this list which L-theanine plays a big part in then you will begin to dramatically over-power any fear or anxiety. Note that L-theanine only works when you are stressed(even just a little) and when your body has enough sodium(won't absorb in the intestine without sufficient sodium). If you take it when you are already relaxed it will not further your relaxation but has the ability stop things from impeding your relaxation. *Note* If you ever used marijuana and felt minor to extreme paranoia, L-theanine CURES this so you can enjoy one of god's beautiful gifts(dead serious)!!!!! I hope all of you take this advice because I do feel it to be the foundation of health and especially with anybody who has ever suffered from extreme anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.

I did some reading and this is what I want to put into this mix. Taking SAMe, 5-HTP, L-Tryptophan or L-Theanine all raise serotonin levels and so does Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft or Paxil. If anyone is taking SSRI's for anxiety and or depression I do not suggest mixing herbs/supplements together with SSRI's. Too much serotonin can cause serious side effects including heart problems, shivering, and anxiety which no one needs that's for sure. I bought L-Theanine last year, this is the information and warning that came on the bottle.

Reduce Anxiety:

L-Theanine is a unique amino acid found almost exclusively in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) and is the primary ingredient contributing to the unusual taste of green tea. Animal studies have shown that L-theanine crosses the blood brain barrier, increases dopamine and GABA levels in the brain, and inhibits the stimulatory properties of caffeine. Human studies have shown that taking L-theanine results in the emission of brain waves associated with a state of relaxation.

Warnings:

Not for use by pregnant or breastfeeding women, infants or children. If you are taking any antidepressant drugs, such as MAOI’s or SSRI’s consult your health care professional before taking this product. Also diabetics, hypoglycemics, and people with known medical conditions and/or taking drugs, should consult with a licensed physician and/or pharmacist prior to taking dietary supplements.

Because you keep providing the same links to this product it appears that you are SELLING this product here - atttempting to make money off of the readers here. This is not allowed and I as dictator make this decision. I will delete the part of your post above that mentions the websites. If you are not selling the stuff then make your case WITHOUT weblinks.

I'm sorry to have you confused. I am not trying to sell anything or make any money?!?! Did you see anywhere to buy L-theanine on the page titled "L-Theanine Unique Anxiety Reducer and Mood Enhancer Increases Alpha Waves and Alertness". No because it was purely a scientific review of the substance only containing a link of where you could get it. I'm sorry that I put the other link in there since it was a page on a site selling green-tea. I'm sorry for the confusion. I was just trying to give people an idea of what it does. Jeff you said "L-theawhatever" like you don't even care what it is or to give it any research and it seems like you automatically fire-wall it as something irrelevant to you and other people with these experiences ie. your jump to the conclusion that I am just trying to sell "another supplement" without looking at the science that I provided. On the topic of green tea, I am a believer in the ill-effects of caffeine(even the little that is in green tea) so I believe it is not a wise drug to take and especially for people with anxiety. Green tea has very small amounts of L-theanine and comparatively much higher amounts of caffeine, so the effects are not very substantial in terms of reducing stress and anxiety. A lot of times caffeine can heighten my stress level so I don't recommend green tea for any reason other than if you find it a pleasure to drink. To tomgunc my personal advice to you is if you are on an anti-depressant I highly recommend you get off of it because it is a dead end(i've been there). I'm telling you man L-theanine is all you need if you feel like you should take something for depression, stress, and anxiety. The average doctor won't tell you about it because truthfully they hardly know anything about health and the healthcare industry is purely a business in which they Benefit from people having health problems. From a financial standpoint they have incentive to give people essentially bad advice because if they truly helped people it would be throwing the customer out the door. My advice is to get off the drugs and get on L-theanine. You'll be glad you did(physically/mentally/financially). I have no doubt that Anti-depressants are a dead end due to my own experience. The healthcare industry is extremely cruel because they know they aren't giving the right advice(they are just trying to make a buck). To those of who think that there is no substance that will dramatically help reduce stress and anxiety, all I can say is that YOU ARE DEAD WRONG. I take L-theanine and it's help has been tremendous. Yes I used to be one of those people who had a bunch of supplements and felt like I NEEDED All of them. Now I feel all I need is what's in my health list in my previous post. Truth is I have gone down the path of feeling like I didn't NEED Anything. In my experience I have learned that this position is naive and I payed for it. I NEED clean water, exercise, "healthy" food, and l-theanine. Its that simple. I just feel the need to impart my knowledge to others so it can help them as it dramatically helped me. Thanks

Ok so you are an advocate for this supplement. But you are not the first to advocate for a supplement. Your advice is based on TESTIMONIAL. There are many supplements with testimonial. Testimonials are not science, they are hearsay.

My experience with supplments is that there is alot of placebo effect and especially in the first few days. After that, nothing, or not much - remember St. John's Wort?

This site is to help people with panic attacks. Your claims are outlandish in that this supplement might CURE panic attacks. There is no scientific evidence you can provide, just your opnion, and some websites who also use testimonials, one of which sells the product.

So what are we to think? You see your promotion is too strong and too repetitive and not believable in the way you present it - it appears as a con and perhaps you are wishing that others will contact you, I don't know.

We don't sell things here. We support people. There is no mineral, amino acid or enzyme supplement to stop panic attacks and if you claim this is so then you are wrong.

Think I understand Jeff's point. I personally believe that a complex B vitamin helps me a little though I am also aware that it's easy to latch on to something after having a few better days on that something. Perhaps it would have been better just to say ' I found L-Theanine helps me somewhat' without the added links etc. It is folly on here to give out names of any products with such wonderfully insistent claims without pointing out that just because it works well for you it isn't a guarentee to work for someone else.

People who are suffering with these disorders do tend to be on the look out for a quick fix and we have to be very careful when being insistent as opposed to making a more general and casual claim with regard to a personal experience. That's just my view.

Sue __________________Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood

Ok so perhaps you're right and I've gone about this wrong. All I can say is from my own experience the continued effects(not placebo) have been Fantastic in its ability to relieve my stress and anxiety. Yes I know very well that a lot of supplements that people take give them a placebo effect mainly because its a confidence booster and they trick themselves into thinking its the pill and not just the boost of confidence they get from believing in the pill. Believe me I was an example of this with the numerous supplements that I used to take. For me L-theanine is very different than anything that I have ever taken or that is out there. The effects are very consistent and very real each time I take it. Good point about the St. Johns Wort. Haha that stuff is totally bogus and never did anything for me. Ok so comparatively St. Johns Wort is a MUCH wider know substance for depression but yet it does absolutely NOTHING. It seems everybody is tricked into buying the bogus supplements and are rarely referred to things that actually work(it is a business). So I feel from my own experience that L-theanine's ability to do what it actually says it does(and much more) is an extreme rarity in the supplement world. I do believe it is the best kept secret for stress and anxiety out there. I believe that there is almost no comparison in terms of performance when up against any other substance for stress and anxiety(believe me I have taken them ALL-natural and pharma). In my opinion comparing it to St. Johns Wort is like night and day. One does absolutely nothing and the others effects are very real, reliable, continuous, and positive. This is my testimonial. Please consider it.

Its just my opinion but advocating marijuana use for anxiety problems is actually worse than the L-Theanine debate. Are you aware Chris that some people who come on here actually blame the use of this drug for kickstarting their anxiety problems? Paranoia cured by L-Theanine? Well perhaps you have the answer to some of the mysteries of psychosis because paranoia is prevelant in that condition! Have you heard of drug induced psychosis?

Sadly folks (in my opinion), its NOT a good thing to smoke marijuana when extremely anxious especially if suffering with DP/DR. Our senses are already very well heightened by our sensitized nervous system. One could say we are seeing reality far too well. Anxiety disorders tend to place us in a highy suggestible position and its madness to place yourself in a vulnerable position where that is concerned.I am sure most who read that part of your post Chris thought things similar to me.

I think its great that you want to help people Chris, I really do but please be careful and recognise the implications of what you write. I know its an individuals right to make up their own mind and the majority despite their anxiety will hopefully rationalise what you write, but do remember how vulnerable, fragile and hopeless some people on here may feel. We also get very young people coming on here who are scared and very open to suggestion. I dont think their parents would thank you for encouraging them to use marijuana. They are probably by that stage, worried enough about their son/daughter.

Sue

__________________Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood

Sue, Well I respect your opinion but it seems that you aren't listening because you have already made up your mind that L-theanine is worthless. That is unfortunate because you most likely have no actual experience with L-theanine so therefore you are making a blind judgment.

I'm 19 years old and I've already gone through the worst pain, suffering, and "psychosis" that I can possibly go through so I feel I know what I am talking about. Yes I know people that come on this forum will feel helpless and hopeless. I had to figure out what I needed to get better and L-theanine has been a BIG part of it. If only I had somebody telling Me that L-theanine would be a incredible help to my condition back when I was REAL BAD. That did not happen and that is what I am trying to do now so it can help others. I have NO DOUBT that it will.

The big three to conquer anxiety 1. clean water(reverse osmosis/distilled)-adequate hydration 2. exercise 3. l-theanine. I have gone through extreme bouts of paranoia/psychosis with marijuana. Note that in my list I added it as a BONUS but not a NEED. I do not advocate using marijuana from an unknown source until you have gotten your anxiety under control or unless you are only using certain strains of sativa. There are in fact strains of marijuana that are mostly sativa(if you want to know what I am talking about research the plant) that can be actually a tremendous help with anxiety. If you live in a medical marijuana state then you can have access to these particular strains that will help. Some particular strains that I would recommend are Strawberry Cough and Kali Mist. These are both great for boosting confidence and melting anxiety. The claim that all marijuana will heighten anxiety and paranoia is simply a false claim. This claim is also from ignorance and lack of experience.Yes I believe if you are in a state of anxiety in the first place it is not a good idea to use the average marijuana on the street because it will most likely cause extreme paranoia(these certain sativas are actually very rare in the states/in the streets unless you go to a medical marijuana club that has them). What I am trying to tell people is L-theanine WILL HELP YOU. In my mind its FACT. Please take my advice.

Sue I was going to say something about the weed too but every time I mention something people go off on me about how I don't know nothing about marijuana. I happen to live in California where you can go buy weed just around the corner and boy do they have different plants off all kind. I saw it on the news....I wouldn't step foot into one of those clinics. If you have cancer or some other disease that's killing you go smoke all you want but for anxiety/panic attacks I do not suggest it. I smoked weed at 19 and my life changed for the worse. Yes I know it was street weed but I had smoken it before and nothing had happened until that day. Maybe the dealer changed his source and got his new stash from another dealer or laced it somehow. Either way it doesn't matter. I personally don't take advice from others that don't spend years and millions of dollars on research. Then show the results.But in any case, the L-Theanine might be the latest and greatest thing for you which is great. I am glad that you found the cure all. Thanks for sharing your story. The famous saying applies to these stories.....To each his own.

I dont think I said anywhere that L-Theanine is worthless Chris. I am well like you and I didn't use any supplement to become well but I have learned some valuable tools along the way that will enable me to live my life without anxiety disorders....what happens if you stop taking L-Theanine?

Sue

__________________Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood

I buy green tea and drink it all the time. But buying some supplement with a tea extract in it..? No thanks. Waste of money.__________________I was in a department store, riding the escalator and i tripped. I fell down the stairs for an hour and a half.

Sue... What happens if you no longer have anything to eat or anything to drink? Are you going to overcome your need for these substances? In reality these "needs" are no different than something like L-theanine. They are both products of our environment. The only reason you need these things is because you BELIEVE you need these things. Maybe if you truly started believing that you truly do not depend on things in this environment then your reality may begin to reflect that belief(you sure would no longer be here in this particular reality-your reality would just change form-you would so called "die"). Your question of "what happens if you stop taking L-theanine" implies that your body is seperate from this reality. It implies that you feel that what occurs within your body/mind is independent of this environment. Do you really think that you could go on without FOOD in THIS reality? Do you really think that your inner power is great enough to live without WATER and stay within this particular reality(I would love to see this for it would be true manifestation of infinite energy in a current reality believed to be limited!)? Everything in this reality is ONE. Nothing is truly "different" from the next. Science proves that atoms(what makes up our "solid world") are purely empty space only occupied by electrical energy. How could a piece of wood be empty? Because everything is energy and this is an illusion. I am YOU and YOU are ME. How can you possibly differentiate as to what energy you need and don't need when it truly is ALL THE SAME? You need all of it or else you do not exist. So what if you did not get over your anxiety and you decided to kill yourself? SO WHAT. It does not matter in the sense that this event is either good or bad. IT JUST IS. If you make that choice it is totally fine, but your intuition and inner voice must confirm this decision or else you would never do it. NOBODY ever commits suicide if they do not have that inner voice telling them to. NOTHING DIES, IT ONLY TRANSFORMs(science actually proves this in this physical reality). THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. And the fact that I choose to take L-theanine for anxiety is no different from the fact that you choose to eat food to satisfy your hunger. Hahahaha Rahnos you're real funny man(haven't got a clue do you mate?-no offense). I love talking philosophy so shoot some stuff at me! Love Everyone Infinitely! Peace!

Whoa!! I eat and drink to stay alive and because I dont want to die yet. I wont die yet from not taking L-Theanine. I only wanted a simple answer really. Thats the problem with would be philosophers, they take a simple question and mask the answer with complex, important sounding answers! My meaning was that I wonder if you would still have anxiety problems without the L-Theanine. Thats a yes or no answer. All I meant was ..isnt it better to not be beholden to anything to mask whats making you anxious but better to actually 'deal with it'. Again a yes or no answer. When you deal with it properly you are left with a profound understanding of how to 'cope' in life without needing to ingest anything to help.

Now you will say that you are dealing with it by taking L-Theanine. I can see there is no point in me taking this further. I go back to the original statements....to tell people on here that L-Theanine is 'the answer' is folly. I did a little research on the internet this morning and whilst I read that indeed L-Theanine did seem to help some people, others were not helped significantly by it. With some it lost its effect after a while and they had to take breaks. I cant put the links on here because some of the origins are forums but that told me what I already knew. As with most things that people claim helps, there are variables. Thats what your postings lack...that information. You 'insist' it will help everyone to the point of recovery. I'm afraid that's simply not true.

Sue

__________________Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood

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